notes and news - Institute of Buddhist Studies

NOTES AND NEWS
IBS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES 1998-1999
1998 NUMATA LECTURER
LECTURER::
Professor Akira Ømine
Professor Akira Ømine, a
leading Japanese scholar in the
field of religious philosophy, presented a series of seminars and
lectures for the Institute of Buddhist Studies and Buddhist
Churches of America in August
1998.
Currently a professor at Ry¥koku University, Professor Ømine is
also emeritus professor of Øsaka University. He is also on the faculty of
the Doctrinal Research Center of the Jødo Shinsh¥ Hongwanji-ha.
A well-known haiku poet, he is the author of many texts, including
Fichte kenky¥ (A Study of Fichte), Kagetsu no shisø (Thoughts of Flower
and Moon), Konnichi no sh¥kyø no kanøsei (The Possibilities for Religion
Today), Shinran no kosumoroj∆ (Shinran’s Cosmology), Shinran no
dainamisumu (The Dynamism of Shinran), and Sh¥kyø to shi no gensen
(The Source for Religion and Poetry).
On August 11, 1998, Professor Ømine conducted the 1998 Numata
seminar on the topic of “Religion and Language: The Soteriological
Significance of Religious Language” in Berkeley. Students and faculty
of the IBS and Graduate Theological Union, as well as other interested
persons participated in the seminar. Professor Ømine then presented
two lectures on the topic, “Jodo Shinshu in the 21st Century: A Return
to the Starting Point of Religion.” The lectures took place on August
14th at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple and August 16th at the Los
Angeles Honpa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple. Both lectures were sponsored by the Yehan Numata Foundation, BCA Centennial Lecture
Series, BCA Ministers Association, and IBS Center for Contemporary
Shin Buddhist Studies.
English translations of both of Professor Omine’s presentations are
available on the IBS web-site at: http:www.shin-IBS.edu.
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1999 RYÁKOKU LECTURER
LECTURER::
Professor Gyøy¥ Yamada
Professor Gyøy¥ Yamada of
Ry¥koku University visited IBS in
March to present a series of lectures
for an IBS Spring semester class
that focused on topics in Shin Buddhist thought.
Professor Yamada is professor emeritus at the Gifu College of
Education. Currently, he is a professor of Shin Buddhist Studies at
Ry¥koku University and has attained the academic ranking of Kangaku
within the Hongwanji. Prof. Yamada is the author of numerous texts
including, Ny¥shutsu nimongeju no kenky¥ (A Study of Shinran’s Hymn
of Two Gateways of Entrance and Emergence), Shinsh¥ shinjin no
kisoteki kenky¥ (A Basic Study of Shinjin in Shin Buddhism), and
Yasashi Shinsh¥ shinjin no Q & A (Simple Questions and Answers about
Shinjin in Shin Buddhism).
His lectures at IBS, which were on the topic of “Shinran’s Vision of
the Primal Vow: Jødo Shinsh¥‘s Approach to Pure Land Faith,” took
place on from March 9 to March 16, 1999. In addition, Prof. Yamada
presented a lecture on “The Primal Vow and Pure Land Faith” on March
12, 1999 at the Buddhist Church of Oakland.
1999 NUMATA LECTURER
LECTURER::
Professor Takamaro Shigaraki
Professor Takamaro Shigaraki will visit IBS as the 1999 Numata
Lecturer in September 1999.
Professor Shigaraki has been at the forefront of the study and
development of Shin Buddhist thought during the past four decades. He
was as a professor of Shin Buddhist Studies in the Faculty of Letters at
Ry¥koku University prior to serving as president of the university for
two terms. He later became the head of the Kanseikyoku (department
of ecclesiastical adjudication) within Jødo Shinsh¥ Hongwanji-ha. He is
currently serving as chairman of the Bukkyø Dendø Kyøkai. Professor
Shigaraki is the author of a great many texts, including Shinran ni
okeru shin no kenky¥ (A Study of Shinjin in Shinran’s Thought),
Jødokyø ni okeru shin no kenky¥ (A Study of Shinjin in Pure Land
Buddhism), Gendai shinsh¥ kyøgaku (Contemporary Shin Buddhist
IBS Programs and Activities
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Doctrinal Studies), Bukkyø no seimeikan (The Buddhist View of Life),
and Shinran shisø o ikiru (Living through Shinran’s Thoughts).
The IBS Numata Lectures by Professor Shigaraki will take place
from September 7 to 14 at the Graduate Theological Union. The topic of
his lectures and the IBS course that will follow them will be “Shinjin in
Shinran’s Thought.” In addition, he will deliver lectures on September
10 at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple and on September 16 at the
Orange County Buddhist Temple. His lectures will be sponsored by the
Yehan Numata Foundation, BCA Centennial Lecture Series, BCA
Ministers Association, and IBS Center for Contemporary Shin Buddhist
Studies.
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BDK ENGLISH TRIPITAKA: A Progress Report
This article updates the comprehensive report on the BDK Tripitaka
Translation Project given in the Notes and News section of The Pacific
World, New Series, Numbers 11 (1995) and 12 (1996). As noted in that
article, 139 texts selected from the Taisho Daizokyo (Taisho Tripitaka)
by the BDK English Tripitaka Translation Committee are being translated into English by internationally recognized scholars around the
world. The translations are being published in 108 or so volumes by the
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research in Berkeley,
California, and will comprise the First Series of the BDK English
Tripitaka.
The texts of the First Series set forth, essentially, the scriptural and
philosophical bases for the main Mahayana Buddhist schools of China,
Korea and Japan. The books published as of the Spring of 1999 (with
brief descriptions of the texts published since 1996) are:
1992. THE SUMMARY OF THE GREAT VEHICLE (Taisho 1593), translated by
John P. Keenan (USA). ISBN 0-9625618-6-X.
1993. THE BIOGRAPHICAL SCRIPTURE OF KING ASOKA (Taisho 2043), translated by Li Rongxi (China). ISBN 0-9625618-4-3).
1994. THE LOTUS SUTRA (Taisho 262), translated by Kubo Tsugunari and
Yuyama Akira (Japan). ISBN 0-9625618-0-0.
1994. THE SUTRA ON UPASAKA PRECEPTS (Taisho 1488), translated by Shih
Heng-ching (Taiwan). ISBN 0-9625618-5-1.
1994. THE ESSENTIALS OF THE EIGHT TRADITIONS (Extra-canonical), translated by Leo M. Pruden (USA), and THE CANDLE OF THE LATTER DHARMA
(Extra-canonical), translated by Robert Rhodes (USA). ISBN 0-9625618-7-8.
1994. THE STOREHOUSE OF SUNDRY VALUABLES (Taisho 203), translated by
Charles Willemen (Belgium). ISBN 0-9625618-3-5.
1995. A BIOGRAPHY OF THE TRIPITAKA MASTER OF THE GREAT CI’EN MONASTERY
OF THE GREAT TANG DYNASTY (Taisho 2053), translated by Li Rongxi
(China). ISBN 1-886439-00-1.
1995. THE THREE PURE LAND SUTRAS (The Larger Sutra on Amitayus, The
Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus, and The Smaller Sutra on
BDK English Tripitaka
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Amitayus) (Taisho 360, 365 and 366), translated by Inagaki Hisao
(Japan). ISBN 1-886439-01-X.
1995. THE ESSENTIALS OF THE VINAYA TRADITION (Taisho 2348), translated
by Leo Pruden (USA), and THE COLLECTED TEACHINGS OF THE TENDAI LOTUS
SCHOOL (Taisho 2366), translated by Paul L, Swanson (USA). ISBN 09625618-9-4.
1996. TANNISHO: PASSAGES DEPLORING DEVIATIONS OF FAITH (Taisho 2661),
translated by Bando Shojun (Japan), and RENNYO SHONIN OFUMI: THE
LETTERS OF RENNYO (Taisho 2668), translated by Ann T. Rogers and Minor
L. Rogers (USA). ISBN 1-886439-03-6.
1996. THE GREAT TANG DYNASTY RECORD OF THE WESTERN REGIONS (Taisho
2087), translated by Li Rongxi (China). ISBN 1-886439-02-8.
1997. SENCHAKU HONGAN NEMBUTSU SHU (A Collection of Passages on the
Nembutsu Chosen in the Original Vow) (Taisho 2608), translated by
Morris J. Augustine (USA) and Kondo Tessho (Japan). ISBN 1-88643905-2.
This work, known generally by its abbreviated title of “Senchakushu,”
is the principal work of Genku, the founder of the Pure Land School
in Japan. It is therefore regarded as the basic text of this school.
Because it contains criticism of the traditional Buddhist schools
founded during the Nara and Heian Periods and presents a systematic outline of the standpoint of Pure Land Buddhism, this work met
with strong criticism from the traditional Buddhist schools, and
many works refuting the author’s views appeared even during his
lifetime. But it has proved to be the most important single literary
work in the establishment of the Pure Land School as an independent school of Buddhism in Japan.
1998. THE PRATYUTPANNA SAMADHI SUTRA (Taisho 418), translated by Paul
Harrison (New Zealand), and THE SURANGAMA SAMADHI SUTRA (Taisho
642), translated by John McRae (USA). ISBN 1-886439-06-0.
THE PRATYUTPANNA SAMADHI SUTRA (Hanjuzanmaikyo) is one of the
oldest Mahayana sutras, and the earliest sutra to contain a reference to Amitayus. It can thus be regarded as a forerunner of the Pure
Land Sutras. The samadhi described in this sutra refers to the
spiritual state wherein one is able to see by mental concentration
buddhas appearing before one’s very eyes, and this sutra describes
the techniques involved in this meditation, giving Amitayus who
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resides in the western paradise of Sukhavati as an example of a
buddha who might appear in such manner. In Japan the meditation
described in this sutra has become the basis of an ambulatory
meditation practice called “jogyo-zanmai.”
THE SURANGAMA SAMADHI SUTRA expounds the essentials of meditative practice. In this sutra, the Buddha replies to a query that the
“surangama samadhi” is the foremost among all methods of spiritual training, embracing within it all other methods of practice, and
then goes on to describe it in detail. Viewed historically, the thought
presented in this sutra anticipates such works as the Avatamsakasutra, Vimilakirtinirdesa-sutra and Saddharmapundarika-sutra.
1999. THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD (Taisho 2003), translated by J. C. Cleary
(USA). ISBN 0-9625618-8-6.
“The Blue Cliff Record” consists of 100 kung-an (koan) selected by
Ch’ung-hsien from the 1700 kung-an of the Ch’uan-teng-lu (“Transmission of the Lamp”). Ch’ung-hsien has added explanatory verses
to each of the kung-an, and later the comments of K’o-ch’in were
appended. In the Ling-chi (Jpn.: Rinzai) School this work is held in
extremely high regard, and is looked upon as a model text for
instruction in the practice of Ch’an (Zen).
1999. THREE CHAN CLASSICS [The Recorded Sayings of Linji (Taisho 1985)
and Wumen’s Gate (Taisho 2005), translated by Thomas Cleary (USA);
and The Faith-Mind Maxim (Taisho 2010), translated by Yoshida
Osamu (Japan)]. ISBN 1-886439-07-9.
“The Recorded Sayings of Linji” is a record of the teachings of Linchi I-hsuan (Rinzai Gigen), the founder of the Lin-chi (Rinzai)
branch of Ch’an (Zen), and was compiled by one his disciples, Huijan. In the Lin-chi (Rinzai) School it is regarded as the most
important collection of the recorded sayings of a Ch’an master.
“Wumen’s Gate” consists of 48 kung-an selected by Wu-men Hui-kai
(Jpn.: Mumon Ekai), a Ch’an monk of the Sung Dynasty. It has
traditionally been the most highly prized work in the Ch’an School.
This work contains relatively few kung-an in comparison to other
collections and is an introductory work and is thus in frequent use.
In the “The Faith-Mind Maxim,” Seng-ts’an, the Third Patriarch of
the Ch’an School in China, gives expression to the highest state of
Ch’an. The original is a short work consisting of 146 lines and only
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584 characters, and states that the ultimate truth of Ch’an corresponds to a state of equality and absolute freedom, free of all
differentiation and conflicts, right and wrong, loss and gain.
TEXTS TO BE PUBLISHED IN 1999-2000
THREE TEXTS ON CONSCIOUSNESS ONLY [The Demonstration of Consciousness Only (Taisho 1585); The Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only
(Taisho 1586); and The Treatise in Twenty Verses on Consciousness
Only (Taisho 1590), all translated by Francis Cook (USA). ISBN 1886439-04-4.
“The Demonstration of Consciousness Only” is a commentary by
Dharmapala et al on Vasubandhu’s “Trimsika” translated by Hsuantsang. It presents an exposition of the Yogacara or Mind-Only school
of thought (Vijnanavada), according to which there is a fundamental consciousness called “alaya-vijnana” (‘store-consciousness’) at
the basis of the human personality in which all past actions are said
to be stored. These latter are said to appear in present and future
actions, and so all phenomena are regarded as manifestations of the
mind. This work has served as the basic text of the Fa-hsian (Jpn.:
Hosso) School in China and Japan.
“The Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only,” composed by
Vasubandhu and translated by Hsuan-tsang, gets its name from the
fact that it consists of thirty verses and is considered a basic text of
the Fa-hsiang (Jpn.:Hosso) School in China and Japan. It is also the
fundamental treatise of the Mind-Only doctrine (Vijnanavada),
which asserts that all phenomena are manifestations of the mind.
“The Treatise in Twenty Verses on Consciousness Only,” composed
by Vasubandhu and translated by Hsuan-tsang, consists of twenty
verses to which is appended a commentary. It is not only devoted to
an exposition of the Mind-Only doctrine (Vijnanavada), but also
presents a critique of non-Buddhist philosophies and Hinayana
doctrine from the viewpoint of the Mind-Only doctrine, asserting
that all phenomena are manifestations of man’s fundamental consciousness.
THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT: VERSES OF THE DOCTRINE, WITH PARABLES (Taisho
211), translated by Charles Willemen (Belgium). ISBN 886439-08-7.
“The Scriptural Text: Verses of the Doctrine, With Parables” is
based upon the Chinese translation of the “Dhammapada,” of which
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approximately two thirds of the verses have been selected for
commentary. The Pali version of the “Dhammapada” contains 423
verses and a number of commentaries recording the tales and fables
surrounding each verse. In the Chinese version, 250 verses have
been added to the original 500 verses, two thirds of which are dealt
with in this work.
KAIMOKUSHO OR LIBERATION FROM BLINDNESS (Taisho 2689), translated by
Murano Senchu (Japan). ISBN 1-886439-12-5.
The “Kaimokusho” was written by Nichiren as a result of the ordeals
he experienced during his exiles to Izu and Sado, and it represents
a reappraisal of the “Lotus Sutra.” “Kaimoku” means literally ‘to
open the eyes,’ the implication being that the aim of this work is to
lead people still at an inferior stage of spiritual development to the
essence of the supreme “Lotus Sutra.” Since it is written in Japanese, it is considered to have been composed by Nichiren for his lay
followers.
BUDDHIST MONASTIC TRADITIONS OF SOUTH ASIA (Taisho 2125), translated by
Li Rongxi (China). ISBN 1-886439-09-5.
THE PLATFORM SUTRA (Taisho 2008), translated by John McRae (USA).
ISBN 1-886439-13-3.
THE SCRIPTURE ON THE EXPLICATION OF THE UNDERLYING MEANING (Taisho
676), translated by John Keenan (USA). ISBN 886439-10-9.
A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF THE PRAJNAPATAMITA HRDAYA SUTRA (Taisho
1710), translated by Heng-ching Shih (Taiwan). ISBN 1-886439-11-7.
These books may be purchased through most bookstores. They may
also be purchased individually or by subscription directly from the
Numata Center. For further information concerning the BDK English
Tripitaka, contact:
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research
(“Numata Center”)
2620 Warring St., Berkeley, CA 94704
Tel. 510-843-4128 Fax. 510-845-3409
email: [email protected]
This issue of Pacific World:
Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies
is dedicated to the memory of
Rev. Philip Karl Eidmann
January 3, 1924 to May 12, 1997
and
Rev. Russell Hamada
November 5, 1951 to April 18, 1998
Both made major contributions
to the development of the Institute,
as teachers, as advisors and as friends.
They are both missed here in this saha
world, though we know they now dwell
in Amida’s infinite compassion and
wisdom. May our future efforts be
guided by their memory.
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The Pacific World
—Its History
World—Its
Throughout my life, I have sincerely believed that Buddhism is a
religion of peace and compassion, a teaching which will bring spiritual
tranquillity to the individual, and contribute to the promotion of harmony
and peace in society. My efforts to spread the Buddha’s teachings began in
1925, while I was a graduate student at the University of California at
Berkeley. This beginning took the form of publishing the Pacific World, on
a bi-monthly basis in 1925 and 1926, and then on a monthly basis in 1927 and
1928. Articles in the early issues concerned not only Buddhism, but also
other cultural subjects such as art, poetry, and education, and then by 1928,
the articles became primarily Buddhistic. Included in the mailing list of the
early issues were such addressees as the Cabinet members of the U.S.
Government, Chambers of Commerce, political leaders, libraries, publishing houses, labor unions, and foreign cultural institutions.
After four years, we had to cease publication, primarily due to lack of
funds. It was then that I vowed to become independently wealthy so that
socially beneficial projects could be undertaken without financial dependence on others. After founding the privately held company, Mitutoyo
Corporation, I was able to continue my lifelong commitment to disseminate
the teachings of Buddha through various means.
As one of the vehicles, the Pacific World was again reactivated, this time
in 1982, as the annual journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. For the
opportunity to be able to contribute to the propagation of Buddhism and the
betterment of humankind, I am eternally grateful. I also wish to thank the
staff of the Institute of Buddhist Studies for helping me to advance my
dream to spread the spirit of compassion among the peoples of the world
through the publication of the Pacific World.
Yehan Numata
Founder, Mitutoyo Corporation
In Remembrance
In May of 1994, my father, Yehan Numata, aged 97 years, returned to
the Pure Land after earnestly serving Buddhism throughout his lifetime. I
pay homage to the fact that the Pacific World is again being printed and
published, for in my father’s youth, it was the passion to which he was
wholeheartedly devoted.
I, too, share my father’s dream of world peace and happiness for all
peoples. It is my heartfelt desire that the Pacific World helps to promote
spiritual culture throughout all humanity, and that the publication of the
Pacific World be continued.
Toshihide Numata
Chairman, Mitutoyo Corporation
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